Summer music festivals are magical places – no matter what your age

From Connect to Glastonbury, summer music festivals are food for the soul, says Rosalind Erskine.

Festivalgoers watch US legend Diana Ross perform on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury festival near the village of Pilton in Somerset, south-west England, on June 26, 2022. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

One of my clearest, happiest memories is of watching Feeder, from my school friend Ben's shoulders, in the dazzling sunshine at T in the Park aged about 16. Turning round, I remember seeing the sprawling crowd, all singing back, and feeling total joy and contentment. That feeling stayed with me at every subsequent trip to Balado (I attending for 10 years, from 15 to 25), always enjoying myself with friends in a state of relaxation that only comes with the lack of responsibility of youth (the miraculous lack of rain helped somewhat). Now, aged 36, I'm recently back from my first ever Glastonbury and was reminded again of the joys of live music, in remote setting, and how, when people are brought together over their love of something, tend to be much more, well, nicer, than in normal situations. Over the course of the long weekend, we listened to a wide range of musical acts and live performers, walked for miles, and made new friends along the way. It's as immersive, bonkers and magical (and sometimes overwhelming) as everyone says it will be. There, we saw tiny babies and people in their 70s, which just goes to show you can attend at any age.

While Scotland's main, big music festivals have ended (RIP T in the Park circa early noughties and Rockness, we never met but you looked fab), smaller ones are popping up in recent years. Connect is back at Ingliston for a second run this year, and this June's inaugural Reeling Festival at Rouken Glen was such a hit they're already planning for the 2024 edition. Having been to both, they prove that you don't need huge crowds and a long-standing reputation to be a hit. Speaking of, TRNSMT, launched as a replacement to T in the Park, and held annually in Glasgow Green, continues to draw young music lovers from across Scotland.

While I am no longer attempting to go on anyone's shoulders, music festivals – large or small – continue to remind me that there's something magical about spending a summer evening in a field, singing along with hundreds of thousands of others.